Machine for making brooms



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES THOMAS, OF WEST CHESTER, PENNSYLVANIA.

MACHINE FOR MAKING BROOMS.

Specification of Letters Patent No.

To all 'whom t may concern Be it known that I, JAMES THOMAS, of WestChester, in the county of Chester and State of Pennsylvania, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines forManufacturing Brooms, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings of thesame, making part of this specification, in which- Figure l represents aperspective view of the broom press; Fig. 2, a horizontal section at theline ae a: of Fig. l, and Fig. 3 a perspective view of a vise or benchfor fastening and finishing the broom.

My invention consist-s of three separate sets of grips or lever presses,which act independently of each other, and by which the handle is firmlysupported, and the brush pressed and securely held upon the handleduring the operation of winding the wire which binds the brush tothehandle.

In the drawing A is the bench or frame supported on legs, to which theother portions of the machine are secured. To this bench is attached aframe composed of the uprights B, B, B, united by cross ties a a. To theback of the uprights B, B above the frame A is attached a plank (c)having a notch in its upper edge, and above and corresponding with thisplank is a lever grip D hinged at one extremity to the upright B andhaving its opposite extremity formed into a handle moving in a guide.The lower edge of this grip is notched to correspond with the notch ofthe plank and between these two the handle of the broom is securelyheld. The upr'ights B B have their opposite faces grooved to receive thesliding grips or presses E E. Each of these is composed of two jawsparting at the center of the broom handle the upper b ascending, thelower b descending. In the adjacent edges of these jaws notches are cutcorresponding with the notches of the handle grip. To each lower jaw b aguide c projecting above it-s notched edge is attached on each side ofthe notch, and to the upper jaw b corresponding guides c are attached,between which the guides 0 of the lower jaw b pass in bringing the jawstogether. A

guide pin Z projecting above the edge of the lower jaw is also attachedto it on each side of t-he notch, and these guide pins are received inrecesses in the corresponding edge 6,717, dated September 18, 1849.

rod e with the levers F. The upper levers F are hinged at one extremityto the upright B and are guided in a vertical direction by working 1n arecess cut 1n the opposite upright B. The lower levers F are hinged andguided below their respective jaws in a similar manner. To hold eachlever in its position during the binding of the brush a separate stop isapplied to each-those of the upper levers are each formed of a bar Ghinged at its upper eX- tremity to the upright B above the levers, andact upon their upper edges. The lower levers are furnished with similarstops G acting on their lower edges.

The drawing represent-s arrangements for but one broom, but the slidingjaws may be lengthened and any number of not-ches may be formed in theiredges, each furnished with its appropriate guides and guide pins.

To use this press, elevate the upper levers and depress the lower ones,then grip the handle in its notch by the handle'lever D. The brush beingnow arranged on the broom handle the upper and lower sliding jaws arebrought toward each other by their respective levers, care being takento incloseL` all the brush between the guides and guide pins, andsuflicient power lis applied to the levers to press the brush firmlyupon the handle; the levers are then secured in their posit-ion bybringing the stops Gr, G upon their edges, and the binding of the brushis commenced by winding the wire close to the outer jaws. lVhensufficient wire has been wound to secure the brush at this point, thestops are removed from the outer jaws,which are withdrawn by theirrespective levers and the binding is completed by winding additionalwire around the brush close to the inner set of jaws, these last and thehandle grip are then removed and the broom withdrawn.

To fiatten and finish the broom I make use of a vise bench (Fig. 3)between the jaws of which it is secured. In order to prevent the edgesof the broom from spreading beyond their proper position, I employ twopins e, e', running transversely across the jaws of the vise, the one ofthese e is fixed,

and the other e can be moved to the holes f, f so as to adapt itself tobrooms of different dimensions.

The advantage which results from the use of two or more sets of jawsover a single set, Will appear on examining the modes in which the wireis wound in the two cases. Whcnbut a single set of jaws is employed thewire must be wound from themoutward,

over those port-ions of the brush which have not been compressed; butwhere more than a single set of jaws are used the brush is first securedby a few coils of wire close to the outer jaws and these being thenremoved7 and the brush being prevented from rising by the first coils ofWire, the binding is completed by winding the wire inward ving it on thelbroom handle during the process of wiring the broom.'

JAMES THOMAS.

Witnessesz JOHN Gr. HAiNns, PAsoHALL VVOODWARD.

